Color has been shown to affect mood. For example, yellow is associated with feelings of warmth and cheerfulness; green, with nature and tranquility; orange, with excitement and energy. So, if you want to create a happy mood in your home, infusing it with colors associated with feelings of happiness is the way to go. Here are five easy and inexpensive ways to give your home a happy mood makeover.
1. Find Inspiration
The first step in a happy mood makeover is to find an inspiration – think about what makes you happy. Maybe you already know what colors make you happy but, if you don’t, there are some easy ways to find out.
First, check your closet! Look at your clothes and find that one piece that makes you smile or makes you happy when you put it on. What color is it? Does it have a pattern? You can use that as your inspiration.
Another way to find inspiration is to look at others’ rooms. Go on Pinterest or open a home decor magazine and see what speaks to you. Do you like bright colors? Do you like pattern? Bold or muted?
Once you find some pictures of rooms or colors that make you happy, gather them together. On Pinterest, you can create a board dedicated to your makeover; offline, you can use a bulletin board or poster board to showcase your finds. You can also create an inspiration or mood board online, using a photo editing or mood board site. Here’s one I created:
From this board, I can see that bright colors make me happy. I like yellows, greens, and blues. So, if I’m designing a room with a happy mood in mind, I’m going to make sure I use those colors throughout the room.
2. Paint
Once you have the inspiration and idea for what you want, start by adding color with paint. You can paint a whole room or, if you aren’t up for that, make the happy color an accent. For example, in my daughter’s room, she wanted bright green on the walls, but the whole room in bright green would have been too much. Instead, I painted a bold stripe around the room:
You could also use a bright, happy color on an accent wall, like I did in our guest room:
Paint is an inexpensive way to add color to a room.
3. Accessories
Another easy and inexpensive way to add happy accents to a room is through accessories.
Include a bright pillow on a bed or couch for an instant burst of happy color.
A bright blue pitcher with colorful spatulas makes me happy in my kitchen. Sprinkle accents in your favorite colors or patterns throughout your home to create a happy mood.
4. Rugs
If you have a neutral room or neutral furnishings, one way to add a pop of color for a happy mood is on the floor, with a rug.
I wanted our dining room to have a serene, happy feel. The cool blues in this rug create that mood, literally from the ground up!
If bright is what makes you happy, try a bold rug like this one:
I love how the living room, above, combines the bright rug with pillows and an accent wall in coordinating colors to create a happy mood in this room.
5. Add Flowers
My go-to, easy, and least expensive way to create a happy mood in a room is to add flowers.
Believe it or not, those flowers came from Costco! I bought them on a rainy day for a quick pick-me-up.
What do you do to create a happy mood in your rooms? Have you done your own happy mood makeover? Share in the comments – I’d love to know!
